Music-leaf turner.



E. G. ABBEY.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLIOATION IIL ED JUNE 3, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Dec. 19,

WWI moses COLUMBIA PLANOGRAIH co WASHINGTON. n. c.

E. G. ABBEY.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

uruouron FILED mm: 3, 1910.

1,01 1,895. Patented Dec. 19,1911.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAIH $0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDDIE GOODELL ABBEY, OF MONETT, MISSOURI.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

Application filed June 3, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDDIE G. ABBEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Monett, in the county of Barry and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Music-Leaf Turners, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to an improvement in music leaf turners and oneof the objects of the present invention is the provision of a simple andeflicient device of this character which is housed within a casingadapted to be supported upon a music rack after the manner of the usualmusic book and which, when not in use may be used as a receptacle forthe music and may be readily trasnported from place to place.

A further object of the present invention is the provision in a deviceof this character, of improved means for turning the several leaves asthey are played so that the turning of the leaves is effected by thenatural movement of the hand of the person while playing and there isthus no interference with the proper execution of the music beingplayed.

A further object of the present invention is the provision in a deviceof this character, of means whereby all of the leaves which have beenturned may be simultaneously restored. to their initial position.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the detaileddescription hereinafter when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is illustratedand wherein like numerals of reference refer to similar parts.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in itsclosed position, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device in its openposition, Fig. 3 is a cross section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Figs. 4,5 and 6 are detail views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the body portion or caseof the device comprises two flanged sections A, A which are hingedtogether at their inner edges and are adapted when folded to constitutea receptacle for holding sheet music and for carrying the same fromplace to place. The sections of the case are preferably so formed as tosimulate the appearance of a book when folded and any suitableSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Serial No. 564,874.

means is provided for locking the sections together when in their foldedposition.

B designates a shaft which extends for substantially the full length ofthe case and is positioned in substantial alinement with the axis of thehinges connecting the sec tions of the case. The upper end of the shaftB is journaled in a bracket 6 which is secured to a block B secured inthe upper portion of the section A of the case, while the lower end ofsaid shaft is journaled in a bearing Z) which is secured to the innerside of the lower end flange of the section A of the case. The lower endof the shaft B projects without the lower end of the case and terminatesin a squared portion upon which is removably secured in any suitablemanner, an actuating key B by means of which the shaft may be shifted inits bearings for a purpose to be hereinafter more particularly setforth. For convenience in shifting the shaft B the actuating key B ispreferably secured thereto at an angle of +15 to the plane of thesections of the case when the same are in their open position.

Loosely mounted upon the shaft .B are a plurality of music carrying armsC, which may be com'eniently formed of sheet metal. Any number of musiccarrying arms C may be employed, four of such arms being shown in theembodiment of the invention illus trated in the accompanying drawings.Each of the music carrying arms C comprises a longitudinally disposedportion 0 which extends for substantially the full length of the caseand from which depend ears 0 which loosely embrace the shaft B, and aportion 0 which projects laterally from the upper end of saidlongitudinally extending portion, said laterally projecting portionbeing slightly greater in length than the width of one of the sectionsof the case.

The several music carrying arms C are adapted when occupying either thesection A or the section A of the case, to lie one upon the other andthe laterally projecting portions 0 thereof are covered, eitherpartially or wholly, with some sound deadening material 0 such as feltor like material. The sound deadening material on the laterallyprojecting portions of the music carrying arms not only serves toprevent any noise which might be caused by the impact of themusic-carrying arms when shifted during the operation of the device, butthe covering of the arms with such material also serves to space theouter end of the arms a slight distance apart when they are resting oneupon the other.

The music carrying arms are normally held in the section A of the caseby springs 0, there being one such spring provided for each of the musiccarrying arms. The springs c are conveniently in the form of flat leafsprings and the inner ends thereof are superposed and are secured to theblock B in the section A of the case, heretofore referred to, by meansof a metal plate which overlies the superposed ends of the spring and issecured to said block by screws or other suitable means. The free end ofeach of the springs 0* is secured to one of the music carrying arms Cand the form of the springs is such that when they are so secured theywill have a tendency to hold the music carrying arms in the section A ofthe case, one upon the other. lVhen the arms are in this position in thesection A of the case it will be seen that any music which is placed inthe section A beneath said arms will be held by the tension of saidsprings against displacement. The free ends of the springs 0 may besecured to the music carrying arms in any suitable manner and in theform of the invention illustrated each of the laterally projectingportions 0 of the music carrying arms is provided with a portion 0extending upwardly therefrom which is folded about the ends of one ofthe springs. Obviously, however, the free ends of the springs might beattached to the laterally projecting p0rtions of the music carrying armsin any other desired manner.

Each of the laterally projecting portions 0 of the music carrying arms Cis provided with means for detachably securing thereto a sheet of musicand in the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings each ofsaid laterally projecting portions has secured to its upper faceadjacent the ends thereof sheet metal hooks c which hooks are engaged byan elastic band 0 under which the sheet of music is slipped when it isdesired to secure the same to the music carrying arm. In lieu of theband thus described sheet metal clips may be secured to the laterallyprojecting portions of the music carrying arms for the purpose ofclamping the sheets of music thereto.

The springs 0 as heretofore stated, serve to normally hold all of themusic carrying arms C in the section A of the case and the shaft B isoperatively connected to the lowermost one of said arms when they are sopositioned, so that by shifting said shaft through the instrumentalityof the key B heretofore described, all of the arms may be turned andmoved to a position in the section A of the case. In the form of theinvention illustrated the means utilized for this purpose comprises anarm Z2 which projects laterally from the upper end of the shaft B andthe outer end of which is secured in any suitable manner to the musiccarrying arm C which is lowermost when such arms occupy their normalposition in the section A of the case. hen the shaft 13 is turned toshift the music carrying arms C to the section A of the case, means areprovided to lock the arms in said section and to release the same one byone, thereby permitting the springs to shift the arms back into thesection A of the case and thus effect the turning of the sheets of musiccarried thereby. This is accomplished, in the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in the drawings, by means of a rod D, which ispositioned in a groove or channel formed in the upper surface of theside flange of the section A of the case and which is provided adjacentits upper end with a downwardly bent U-shaped portion (Z. The upperportion of the side flange of the section A of the vase is provided witha pocket in the inner surface thereof over whiclr'is removably secured aplate F which is provided with integral flanges projecting from one sidethereof in which are slidably mounted the portions of the rod D at eachend of the U-shaped portion (Z thereof. The space between the flanges fof the plate F is such that when the rod 1) is moved downwardly untilthe U-shaped portion (Z thereof contacts with one of said flanges, theupper portion of said rod will have been disengaged from the other ofsaid flanges, thus permitting the rod to be removed withoutdisengagingthe bearing plate. The bearing plate F is provided with a cut-awayportion f therein into which the outer end of the music carrying arms Care moved when such arms are shifted from the section A of the case tothe section A of the case. Rigidly secured to the side arm of theU-shaped portion (Z of the rod D, nearest to the lower portion of thecase is a hook member (1 having an upwardly projecting nose. Pivotallysecured to the side arm of the U-shaped portion (Z of the rod D, whichis nearest to the top of the case is a hook member (Z having a noseturned toward the nose of the hook member (l but positioned in a higherplane. A spring (1 which is secured to the bearing plate F engages therear portion of the hook member (Z and such hook member is provided onits rear edge with a portion (Z' which is adapted to engage the arm ofthe U-shaped portion (Z of the rod D and thus limit the movement of thehook portion on its pivot. The spring (Z serves to normally hold thehook portion (Z in a position at right angles to the rod D. lVith thehook portion (Z thus held against movement on its pivot, the spring alsoserves to normally shift the rod D in its bearing, means being provided,however,

as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth, for preventing thespring from shifting the rod a sufficient extent to disengage the upperend thereof from its bearing wit-l1 the flange projecting from the plateF. The nose of the hook member d is beveled and when the music carryingarms are moved to their position in the section A of the case they willengage the beveled face of the nose of the hook member d and as suchmember is pivoted it will be forced upward on its pivot, allowing thearms to pass into position below the nose, the spring 6Z3 returning thehook member (Z to its normal position with the nose thereof overlyingthe topmost one of the music carrying arms and thereby looking all ofsuch arms in the section A of the case. The hook members (Z and (Z areso spaced apart that when the nose of the hook member (Z is inengagement with the uppermost one of the music carrying arms C, the noseof the member (Z is out of engagement with the arm C and the members arenormally held in this position by the spring (Z G designates anactuating member for releasing the music carrying arms from the sectionsA of the case and permitting the same to be shifted to the section Athereof by their respective springs. In the embodiment of the inventionillustrated such actuating member comprises a wire or rod, which ispivotally connected at its inner end to the lower flange of the sectionA of the case, adjacent its connection with the section A, and whichextends downwardly and outwardly to the outer edge of the section A ofthe case and terminates in an upwardly bent portion 9, the upper end ofwhich is bent inwardly as at g and is pivotally connected by means of aremovable pin 9 with the lower end of the rod D which projects beyondthe lower flange of the section A of the case. The laterally projectingportion 9 of the actuating member G passes through a slotted guide plate9 which is secured to the exterior of the lower edge of the section A ofthe case and which serves to limit the downward movement of the rod Ddue to the tension of the spring (Z thereon. The slot in the plate 9 isof such a length that the rod D cannot be moved downwardly a sufficientdistance by the spring 623 to disengage the upper end thereof from itsbearing in the flange proj ecting from the plate F. If for any reason,however, it is desired to remove the rod D and its attached parts, thelower end of the rod D can be disconnected from the actuating member Gso that the rod can be shifted downwardly a sufficient extent towithdraw the upper end thereof from engagement with the flangeprojecting from the plate F after which the rod can be readilydisengaged.

In using the device, the music carrying arms C are all moved into thesection A of the case and engaged under the nose of the hook member dAfter the music on the first sheet has been played-and the playerdesires to turn such sheet, the hand is elevated until the back thereofengages the actuating member G and moves the same upwardly on its pivot.Such movement shifts the rod D upwardly and moves the hook member (Zfrom out of engagement with the top-most arm C, thus permitting itsspring to shift such arm to the section A of the case. During themovement of the rod D which effects the disengagement of the hook member(Z from the top-most arm C, the hook member (5 is moved so as to overliethe arm C immediately below the top-most arm and thus prevent therelease of but one of such arms at a time. As soon as the pressure onthe actuating member G is released, the spring 6Z3 will restore theparts to their normal position.

Inasmuch as the actuating member is of a width substantially equal tothe width of one of the sections of the case, it will be apparent thatthe player may by merely raising the hand to a slight degree more thanit is raised in playing the music, engage such member at any point andeffect the turning of the leaf, so that since no special movement of thehand is required to effectthe turning of the leaf there is nointerference with the proper execution of the music being played. lurthermore, since the lower edge of the actuating member slopesdownwardly, it will be seen that the necessary movement can be impartedto the rod D to efiect the turning of the leaf by a lateral movement ofthe hand.

Vhile a convenient embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing it will be understood that many changes may be madeto the aforementioned structure therein shown without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a music leaf turner, a supporting member having a verticalreceiving groove, a plurality of spring actuated music carrying armspivotally mounted in the supporting member, means for holding said armsat one side of said support-ing member, means for simultaneously movingsaid arms to such position, means for releasing said holding means torelease said arms one by one to permit movement thereof to the oppositeside of the supporting member, said releasing means comprising a rodvertically slidable in the groove and provided with means at its upperend to engage alternate arms at their ends and an elongated actuatingmember pivoted at its inner end to the lower portion of the supportingmember and extending downwardly in an inclined direction transversely ofthe supporting member and then upwardly for attachment to the lower endof the rod.

2. In a music leaf turner, a supporting member having a verticalreceiving groove, a plurality of spring actuated music carrying armspivotally mounted in the supporting member, means for holding said armsat one side of said supporting member, means for simultaneously movingsaid arms to such position, means for releasing said holding means torelease said arms one by one to permit movement thereof to the oppositeside of the supporting member, said releasing means comprising a rodvertically slid able in the groove and provided at its upper end withopposed hooks to engage alternate arms at their ends and an elongatedactuating member pivoted at its inner end to the lower portion of thesupporting member and extending downwardly in an inclined directiontransversely of the supporting member and then upwardly for attachmentto the lower end of the rod, said rod and actuating member being limitedin their upward movement to prevent accidental release of the arms.

3. A leaf turner comprising a two-part foldable supporting member, avertical pivot shaft mounted upon the supporting member adjacent itsfolding point, a plurality of spring actuated music carrying arms havingvertical portions pivotally mounted upon the pivot member and havingupper laterally projecting portions terminating adjacent the sides ofthe sections of the supporting member, means for holding said arms atone side of said supporting member, means for releasing said holdingmeans to disengage the arms from such position one at a time to permitmovement thereof to the opposite section, the upper end of the pivotmember being extended laterally and connected to the lowermost of saidarms, and a key for rotating the pivot member to simultaneously swingall of said arms for engagement by the holding means.

1-. A leaf turner of the class described comprising a supporting memberhaving a surrounding flange portion, a central pivot rod carried by thesupporting member, a plurality of spring actuated music carrying armsmounted thereon and adapted to lie one upon the other, said arms havinglaterally extending portions adapted to lie with their ends engaged inrecesses in the side flange portions of the supporting member, said armsbeing adapted for movement upon opposite sides of the supporting member,a rod slidably mounted in one of the recessed flange portions at oneside of the supporting member and having opposed hook members mounted insaid recess and adapted to engage alternate music carrying arms adjacentthe ends of the arms when the rod is shifted, a spring engaging one ofsaid hooks to force said rod normally downward to hold the uppermost armand an upwardly movable actuating member extending transversely of thesupporting member with an upwardly curved portion connected to the rodat its lower extremity for actuation by the back of the hand whenplaying.

5. A leaf turner of the class described comprising a supporting memberhaving a surrounding flange portion, a central pivot rod carried by thesupporting member, a plurality of spring actuated music carrying armsmounted thereon and adapted to lie one upon the other, said arms havinglaterally extending portions adapted to lie with their ends engaged inrecesses in the side flange portions of the supporting member, said armsbeing adapted for movement upon opposite sides of the supporting member,a rod slidably mounted in one of the recessed flange portions at oneside of the supporting member and having opposed hook members mounted insaid recess and adapted to engage alternate music carrying arms at theirends when the rod is shifted, a spring engaging one of said hooks toforce said rod normally downward to hold the uppermost arm, an upwardlymovable actuating member extending t'ansversely of the supporting memberwith an upwardly curved portion connected to the rod at its lowerextremity for actuation by the back of the hand when playing, and aslotted plate receiving a portion of the actuating member to preventdisplacement of the rod under the action of the spring.

6. In a device of the character described, a body comprising a pair ofhinged flanged sections, the side flange of one of said sections beingprovided with a channel in the upper edge thereof and with a cutawayportion adjacent the top thereof, a plurality of alined spring-actuatedmusic carrying arms pivotally supported in the central portion of thecase, a plate secured to the interior of the side flange of one of thesections of the case over the cutaway portion thereof, said plate beingprovided with an opening therein adapted to receive the ends of themusic-carrying arms and with integral flanges projecting from one sidethereof into the cutaway portion in the side flange of the case, a rodseated in the groove in the upper edge of the side flange of the caseand provided adjacent its upper end with a downwardly extending U-shapedportion, the portions of said rod at each side of said U-shaped portionbeing slidably mounted in bearings formed in the flanges projecting fromthe bearing plate, a pair of opposed hook members carried by the arms ofthe U- shaped portion of the rod, said hook members being adapted uponmovement of the rod to engage alternate music-carrying arms at theirends when they occupy a position within the opening of the bearingplate, a spring carried by the bearing plate and serving to normallyforce said rod downvardly, and an actuating member for imparting anupward movement to said rod.

7. In a device of the character described, a body comprising a pair ofhinged flanged sections, a shaft loosely mounted in said body insubstantial alinement with the axes of the hinges thereof, the lower endof said shaft projecting without the body and being provided with anactuating portion, a plurality of music-carrying arms loosely mounted onsaid shaft and adapted to lie one upon the other, springs normallyholding said arms in one of the sections of the case, a rigid connectionbetween the lowermost one of said music carrying arms and said shaft topermit movement of all of said arms to the other sect-ion of the case,and means for holding said arms in the other section of the case againstthe tension of their springs and for releasing the same one by one.

8. In a music leaf turner, a body, a shaft mounted in said body at itsupper and lower ends for pivotal movement, a plurality of music carryingarms loosely mounted on said shaft, an anchor block mounted in the thelower portion thereof, a spring engaging the movable hook member to holdthe uppermost of said arms and normally depress the rod, said rod beinglimited in its movement and an actuating member disposed in an inclinedposition and adapted for upward movement at its lower portion, saidactuating member being connected to the rod to raise the same by atransverse pressure to release the uppermost arm from the pivoted hookand engage the next arm by the rigid hook.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDDIE GOODELL ABBEY.

Witnesses A. IVI. KIRGHNER, ROBERT JOHNSTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

